Creek Shore Farms is an organically run vegetable farm located in St. Catharines, owned and operated by Ryan & Amanda Thiessen. Our farm is in the heart of the Niagara Region fruitbelt and operates on 5 acres of land. We sell primarily through our summer and winter CSA programs, as well as at a farmers’ market and farm gate sales.
We are looking for two apprentices for the 2015 season.The apprenticeship will run from April to November 1st. You will have opportunities to spend time learning and doing field work, including planting, weeding, harvesting and soil management. Our farm relies heavily on equipment, much of it custom built or modified.

We are seeking apprentices who would like to learn specialized skills in:

safe and effective operation of tractors

equipment maintenance and repair

welding

building construction

equipment modification

custom equipment design and construction

Although previous experience in these areas is an asset to you, and will take you further in the program, it is not a requirement. Part of our program involves working with a mobile mechanic to learn the basics of equipment maintenance..

Apprentices will work five days a week on the farm and a sixth day on a focus project of their choosing. Sundays are a day of rest on the farm.
In addition to vegetables we also raise pigs, chickens and have a small, trellised apple orchard.

You will live on site, in a two bedroom apartment in the loft of our barn. Basic groceries and farm produce will be provided and apprentices will earn a stipend.

There will be one communal meal each week, but otherwise apprentices will be in charge of their own meals.

Experience what it is like to be on a growing market farm! We are 4 kms SW of St.Thomas and about a 30 min drive south of London. We live on a 40 acre mix of forest, fields and wetlands with a lot of potential. This year our Summer CSA is expanding from 40 to 100 members and we have a 30 member fall CSA. We also attend a market in St.Thomas and one in London. We are looking for interns to join our team of 2 farmers and other full and part-time employees. We will provide room and board and a stipend in exchange for work on the farm. Depending on the candidate, there is opportunity for an experienced intern to start their own farm venture or joint venture on the farm.

The farm includes many old fruit trees (cherry, apples, apricots, peaches), a pond and wetland and 10 acres of forest. We currently rent paddock space to 2 horses and have a flock of laying hens. We are 10 minutes from Port Stanley on Lake Erie and very close to St.Thomas. The ideal candidate is someone who has plans to start a farm and wants to see the planning and experiences that happen in the early years of starting a farm. Skills we will focus on for an internship will include season extension, planting, transplanting, the use of cover crops, harvesting efficiency, direct marketing to consumers among other things. Interns will get a chance to see the trade-offs made on the small market farm in order to optimize time and efficiency of the farm’s resources.

Internships run from April until November with some flexibility in start and end dates.

]]>- 2015 Positions Available -
Kolapore Gardens is a biologically intensive market garden producing top quality, nutrient dense vegetables and herbs for the local communities of Collingwood, Thornbury, Clarksburg and the Beaver Valley.

We are located next to a provincial park and plenty of wild forests and creeks.

Our farm works cooperatively with a neighbouring horse farm who provide manure in exchange for helping out with hay & upkeep of the farm.

Apprentices live on farm, food prep is shared and apprentices earn a modest stipend. A valid drivers licence is not required, but would be an asset.

We look forward to hearing from applicants who are seriously considering starting their own farm business in the next few years and want to refine their skills as well as those who are more generally interested in learning about market gardening and aren’t afraid to get dirty and work hard.

There is very little agriculturally related that we don’t do at Whole Circle Farm. We rear cows,
pigs, chickens, grow grain, make hay, practice biodynamics, have a farm store, sell at markets
all year long, manage a 200 member Summer CSA growing over 50 types of vegetables, a 100
member Winter CSA, grow salad greens all winter long without external heat, produce copious
quantities of maple syrup and live in a community but work as a family.

Whole Circle has developed a highly comprehensive practical program for our interns based
on past intern feedback and designed by former interns/farmers. The internship is, at its core,
a working-learning experience. Our primary method for teaching how to manage a farm is to
give you skills and have you perform tasks within our farm system. The aim of the program is to
generate knowledgeable and confident ‘new farmers’.

Not everybody is offered a position at Whole Circle, we offer internships to those who have
demonstrated an interest and shown dedication to being students and practitioners of sustainable
agriculture. This is truly a farm training position – if you are looking to learn how to manage a
farm, not just how to go out and hoe, this is the place for you.

If we’ve piqued your interest then visit our website for an application and a highly detailed
information package about work, education, housing, amenities, vehicle availability, all the
delicious home-grown organic food you can eat, remuneration (yes you actually earn something
too) and much more.

For more program details and application forms please visit our website http://
www.wholecirclefarm.ca/?page_id=1955

We are an 80 acre Biodynamic farm located in the rolling hills of Grey County. Our mixed farm focuses on providing vegetables, herbs and flowers for our surrounding community through the summer and winter CSA. We are currently converting our farm into as much draft horse power as possible with a team of Belgians and a team of Percherons. We also have Highland cattle, ducks, laying hens and raise a couple of pigs. Our farm is small enough that apprentices get a chance to be involved in most of it: from starting plants in the greenhouse, to soil preparation, composting, planting and seeding crops, irrigation, cultivation, crop rotating, covercropping, harvesting, packing, marketing, animal care, rotational grazing, horse sense, seed saving… etc. all in the context of Biodynamics. We are also part of a local vegetable seed growers network “Seeds of Transition.” Our farm is a mentor farm in the North American Biodynamic Apprentice Program. Spring and fall workshops complement the practical learning apprentices receive.

Reroot organic farm is a 70 acre diversified farm with a strong focus on market gardening, providing certified organic vegetables, fruits, herbs and cut flowers for 100 CSA shareholders, 2 weekly farmers’ markets and on-farm sales. 2012 will be reroot’s 6th growing season, our 2nd season on our own land located in Wellington County, 1-hour North of Guelph and Kitchener-Waterloo.

While the focus of the internship will be on market gardening, interns will also have hands-on experience beekeeping, working with our flock of free-range laying hens, and raising chickens, and Berkshire pigs for meat.

Interns will benefit from a very hands-on learning environment, working alongside reroot farmer Caitlin Hall, and participating in both informal and formal educational opportunities. Interns will benefit from bi-weekly structured education days including CRAFT days, field trips, and in-depth workshops. Weekly field walks and independent learning opportunities will round out our approach to education.

Skills to be learned include:

Greenhouse management

Transplanting & direct-seeding

Harvesting & post-harvest handling

Tractor use

Weeding

Soil preparation

Seed-saving

Food preserving

Crop planning

Marketing

Small-scale animal husbandry

Bee-keeping

We’re looking for inquisitive, versatile, hard-working and self-motivated individuals who are interested in a diversified farm experience. We are friendly, flexible and open to accommodating different learning desires.

In addition to educational experiences, interns will receive room & board, a weekly stipend, and lots of great food.

Established in 1997. We grow over 30 acres of certified organic vegetables on 2 farm properties, and manage 2 other farms with fruit. We run a 1000 member CSA in the summer season as well as attending several local farmers’ markets. (Dundas, Dufferin Grove, Westdale) We also run an organic food box program that runs year round. Tasks for interns will include seeding, planting, weeding, watering, tractor work, harvesting, packing and delivering vegetables, and tending free- range chickens. All interns will be taking part in our farmers’ markets. Lodging is in a wall tent with a platform floor at the home farm. Meals and utilities shared with everyone in one of the farm houses. We’re looking for interns who enjoy living in a busy social setting, as you will be sharing work and life on the farm with up to 30 people in the busy summer season. Starting May 1st. 5.5 days/week with a $100 weekly pay. $500 bonus to those who stay until the end of October. Two former interns now hold year round positions!

Orchard Hill farm is an 93 acre diversified organic farm, growing 7 acres of vegetables and small fruit to supply our 220 family CSA, hay, pasture, and grains for our livestock (horses, laying hens, house beef animal and pigs) and for seed. Most of our farm work is done with Suffolk Punch horses, a very old and rare breed of draft horse specially suited for work in field and forest. We strive to balance land area, livestock, manure production, energy use and crop production so that we have a largely energy self-sufficient farm that maintains or improves its soil fertility while producing nutritious and safe food for our local community. We are happy to share the lessons of our 30 years of farming and to teach the many skills (from crop planning on paper, through field and garden work, to harvest and marketing) that young farmers require to get started on their own. We accept 4 apprentices each year. If you are looking for a rich learning experience that will help prepare you to start farming, and particularly if you are interested in farming with horses, apply to Orchard Hill!Contact: Ken and Martha Laing

ManoRun Organic farm is located in Ancaster (near Hamilton). We are a 40 acre mixed farm including vegetable production, hay, pasture, livestock and grains. ManoRun Organic Farm is primarily a vegetable production farm selling Community Shared Agriculture memberships and at 2 farmers markets. We have a number of opportunities for intern learning including;

Vegetable growing

Livestock care

Food processing

Marketing and sales

Permaculture

Our farm fertility management program includes; annual fall compost application, green manures, crop rotations and mineral dust applications.
In 2014 the farm planted 2,000 trees on contoured swales as part of its long term goal to recreate an Oak Savannah using permaculture principles.
The farm uses a minimum of tractor tillage and lots of hand weeding. Our human energy approach to agriculture means lots of time with plants and animals.
The farm manages a number of pastures and hay fields. We also commonly grow corn, beans and grain for both animal feed and human consumption.
Interns can choose an area of focus beyond growing vegetables. One day a week is provided for interns for their area of focus which is self led. The farm has developed intern areas of focus that include but not limited to:

Urban agriculture

Permaculture

Bread baking

Restaurant and food preparation

Farmers markets, marketing and sales.

Livestock management

On farm living arrangements: We offer on farm housing and food.
Off farm Interns: The farm is minutes from the Hamilton bus route and accessible by bicycle.
Training: The internship program includes;
2 days per month for on farm workshops and off farm tours.
1 day per week for intern farm focus
1 ½ hour per week discussion/field walk.

The farm uses a minimum of tractor tillage and lots of hand weeding. Our human energy approach to agriculture means lots of time with plants and animals.

The farm manages a number of pastures and hay fields. As well, we grow in any given year, corn beans and grain for both animal feed and human consumption.

Interns can choose an area of focus beyond growing vegetables. One day a week is provided for interns for their area of focus which is self led. The farm has developed intern areas of focus that include but not limited to.

Urban agriculture

Permaculture

Bread baking

Restaurant and food preparation

Membership organization

Farmers markets, marketing and sales.

Livestock management

On farm living arrangements: We offer on farm housing and food.Off farm Interns: The farm is minutes from the Hamilton bus route and accessible by bicycle.Training: The internship program includes;

2 days per month for on farm workshops and off farm tours.

1 day per week for intern farm focus

1 ½ hour per week discussion/field walk(farm text provided)

Stipend:100.00 per month.

ManoRun Farm is committed to supporting people to grow their own food and to farm.

“Ignatius offers one of the best internship programs I have encountered, you will become very comfortable with the essentials of market gardening and the CSA model, a fantastic foundation!”- Seb Ramirez, Former Intern

“Expect to learn how to manage people, multitask and gain the competency to independently make decisions while under stressful and adverse conditions; all of which are highly sought out skills for individuals seeking opportunities beyond farming.” – Abid Asif, Former Intern

“The Farmers at Ignatius Farm CSA invest a tremendous amount of energy into their internship program and place a strong emphasis on education.” – Sarah Ouellette, Former Sr. Intern

We are seeking individuals who have a keen desire to learn the practices and principles of growing food organically, who are interested in building friendships and community, who are enthusiastic, curious and open to new ideas. We are committed to making this internship a learning experience, and we expect hard work, commitment to the guiding principles of our farm, and the ability to work as part of a larger team.

Education Program:

Field Trips & CRAFT Days

Guest Speakers

Regular Workshops

Mentored Field Walks

Program Tailored to your Learning Objectives

Internship Manual and Primer

Diversified Farm Opportunities:

Community Shared Agriculture

Community Garden Plots

Farmers Market

Tractor Experience

Field Crops

Orchards

Centre for Agricultural Renewal

Benefits of an Ignatius Internship:

Shared Housing with Utilities at the Farmhouse

Modest Stipend

Organic Veggies from the Farm

4km from Downtown Guelph

We are offering senior, full season novice and summer novice positions.

Senior Internship:

Senior interns are leaders on our farm. Senior interns are leaders on our farm. The interns participate fully in the novice internship programming, and also take on specialized roles in the following areas to gain farm management experience. They are provided with a modest professional development budget which they can use to further their own educational pursuits in addition to the field trips and workshops offered to the novice interns.

Education: Coordinates all educational activities pertaining to the farm, and maintaining materials for enhancing the educational experience of the broader farm community. This community includes, but is not limited to, farm interns, CSA members, community gardeners and farmers.

Community Garden Plots: Works with the farm manager in setting up and running community gardens, including plot preparations, and liaising with the gardeners.

Volunteers: Coordinates our working share CSA members, volunteers and groups.
Requirements: Proven organizational and planning skills and one full season of experience on a farm. Organizational, leadership skills, equipment experience and background in coordinating education, volunteers, and public outreach are assets.

Novice Internship:

Novice internships are designed to give the intern a wide exposure to sustainable food systems. You can expect to be involved in: greenhouse management, seedling production, bed preparation, tractor work, weeding, transplanting, harvesting, overseeing distribution at CSA pick-ups or market table, planning events, participating in educational activities structured around intern learning objectives and learning how to cook with the food we grow.

Timelines:
The team generally works 6-5:30 pm, with a mid morning break and 1.5 hr lunch. A rotation of seasonal duties will require longer hours or occasional weekend duties.

Timelines for internships are as follows:
Summer Novice : Apr 20 to Aug 28
Full Season Novice: Apr 20 to Nov 14
Senior: March 2 to Nov 14

Our Land:
The internship program is part of Ignatius Farm. The main focus is our 8.5 acre Community Shared Agriculture organic vegetable operation, which supplies produce to over 250 member households and local businesses. Interns also have exposure to farmland tenant activities on the property including field crops, beekeeping, hop vines, forest gardening, cattle and medicinal herbs, and our extensive community garden plots.

Ignatius Farm is one part of the Ignatius Jesuit Centre of Guelph. Our land encompasses over 600 acres of farmland, wetland and woodland, and includes a Jesuit community, Loyola House Retreat Centre, Center for Agricultural Renewal, hiking trails & natural areas. The farm is located less than a kilometre from Guelph, Ontario.

Application Process

The successful candidate:
– will be ready to learn, receive instruction and follow directions and established farm procedures
– will have creative and constructive input at appropriate times
– will own farm tasks sometimes considered to be mundane and thrive on every job well done
– will work safely, responsibly, and respectfully
– will remain positive and contribute to a cooperative work environment
– will enjoy physical challenges in various weather conditions, from April showers through July heat and frosty October.

“Interning at Ignatius Farm brought to light possibilities that I had not seriously considered for my future. I am grateful for the growth I continue to experience, the friendships forged, and the exciting turn my life’s journey has taken thanks to the support, kindness and encouragement of the Ignatius Farm team.” - Nicola Inglefield, 2012 Former. Intern